Advisory groups call for urgent action to save the reef

ENVIRONMENT Minister Greg Hunt's two independent advisory groups on the Great Barrier Reef have called on the government to urgently speed up action on water quality issues and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to save the reef.

The two advisory panels to the Reef 2050 Plan include eminent scientists and industry, community and environment groups.

They urged the government to "accelerate action" to reduce poor water quality on the reef with "efforts to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions", and said it was critical that a reef-wide monitoring program demonstrated "progress within two years" if the reef was to avoid irreversible damage.

Mr Hunt flew to Cairns yesterday to announce $50 million in funding for "new projects" to boost water quality.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters welcomed the funding to fight the reef's worst coral bleaching event on record, but said it was money that had allocated in last year's budget